Page 3366 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 23 September 2015
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Dunrossil Drive and McCulloch Street was completed in October 2013 at a cost of $7.15 million. These works included the duplication of the road, the removal of the roundabout at the intersection of Lady Denman Drive and Cotter Road—I think we all know how difficult that roundabout was—and replacing it with an intersection controlled by traffic lights. Provisions were also built into the design to accommodate public transport and cycling requirements, with the inclusion of bus lanes on the approaches to the intersection as well as the on-road cycling lanes. The benefits of adopting this integrated approach now will be seen in the future when the public transport and cycling demands increase as the district of Molonglo develops.
Some local area traffic management measures were constructed in McCulloch Street, Curtin at the same time as the stage 1 works on Cotter Road. It is important to protect the amenity and safety of local residents on McCulloch Street, as it is well known as a rat run for people travelling between Belconnen and Woden. I am pleased t these works, requested by local residents, have been effective in reducing traffic speeds on this street.
The design, public consultation and works approvals for the second stage of the upgrade of Cotter Road through Curtin, which covers the section from Yarralumla Creek to the Tuggeranong Parkway, have been recently completed, at a cost of $1.08 million.
The proposed works will complete the duplication of the Cotter Road to the Tuggeranong Parkway. They will upgrade the ramp at the parkway interchange; duplicate the bridge over Yarralumla Creek; introduce on-road cycling lanes and some bus priority lanes at the intersections; and provide for improved access to Equestrian Park, the home of the ACT Equestrian Association. The project cost estimate is $23.3 million, which is considerably more expensive than the first stage of the works but does include the widening of bridge structures and works on the parkway interchange ramp structures, which are always expensive works to undertake.
The design process for this section of the upgrade has identified a number of important issues to be resolved, including the need to provide noise walls to limit the impact of increased traffic noise on adjacent residences and preserve or limit the impact on the long-established stands of torrey pines. These trees were planted over 50 years ago and globally are an endangered species. While some of these trees will be removed, seeds have been collected and a small forest will be planted in the National Arboretum to ensure that the tree species is well preserved within the ACT.
Local residents have been consulted on the impact of the project, in particular on the tree and traffic noise issues, and broad agreement has been achieved on the way forward. This consensus was confirmed with the granting of works approval by the National Capital Authority after a four-week public consultation process. The planning, design work and public consultation for this project have been completed, and the ACT government will now be considering the construction of the proposed works as part of its next budget cycle.
This project is a good example of the timely planning and development of infrastructure works by the ACT government. In 2012 when funding was initially
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